Esmat Mansour suspects some of his young Palestinian students consider him a hero for killing an Israeli. But his aim in teaching them Hebrew is to help them understand and build bridges with Israelis.

Palestinians and Israeli settlers have been at odds for years. Decades, really. That's not news. But in the ongoing struggle between the two sides, there's a new development that seems to be a step change. When Palestinians discover settlers misbehaving, rather than taking matters into their own hands, they're activating a sort of neighborhood watch.

On Sunday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas hosted an unprecedented meeting with several hundred Israeli students and activists at his Ramallah headquarters. The Israeli Army ordinarily forbids visits of its Jewish citizens to the Palestinian city. And Abbas had conciliatory words for his visitors.

Israelis laid its former prime minister Ariel Sharon to rest on Monday. The military commander-turned-politician stunned Israelis by making a political turnaround in 2005 and pulling thousands of Jewish settlers out of the Gaza Strip. To some, though, the move was totally in line with his focus on the country's security.

Former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon has died after spending nearly eight years in a coma that followed a stroke. Sharon was highly controversial — both loved and hated. And few individuals in recent memory have had as much of an influence on the recent history of the Middle East.

It's a rare love story that breaks so many boundaries in the Middle East. An Israeli and a Palestinian fought physical barriers in traveling between Jerusalem and the West Bank. They fought the Israeli-Arab cultural barriers. And they fought the social barriers of being gay.

Updated

11/20/2013 - 1:15pm

Israeli-Palestinian collaboration is rare enough in the fractious Middle East. But harmony? Two pianists are showing personal peace is possible, along with world-class performance in Europe and the Middle East.

Palestinians from not only Syria but from Lebanon and the West Bank clashed with Israeli soldiers yesterday on the anniversary of the creation of Israel. The Palestinians call it Nakbah Day. Nakbah is Arabic for catastrophe. Daniel Estrin reports.

A law passed by the Israeli legislature recently barred Palestinians who marry Israeli citizens from receiving their own Israeli citizenship. That means they can be forced to leave at any time, and cannot drive or work. Now Lana Khatib and her family are at risk.

Palestinian protesters fed up with Israeli settlements going up on Palestinian-owned land are trying a new tactic. They're building settlements, out of tents and shacks, first. So far they haven't lasted but, really, that's not the point.

Israelis laid its former prime minister Ariel Sharon to rest on Monday. The military commander-turned-politician stunned Israelis by making a political turnaround in 2005 and pulling thousands of Jewish settlers out of the Gaza Strip. To some, though, the move was totally in line with his focus on the country's security.